Spanish in Colombia is a new language guide written by August Flanagan, who I met in 2009 while waiting in line for a free tango show in downtown Medellin, Colombia.
I should add that before writing Spanish in Colombia, August created Lenguajero, a free online language learning community where people get together to practice their conversational English and Spanish.
As of 2011, there are over 10,000 members.
Getting back to the his guide, August was kind enough to send me a review copy, and I found it to be packed with very practical information.
If you’re heading to Colombia for a few days, or even been living here for a year or more like me, I’m sure you’ll learn a few new words, or fruits.
This 50-page ebook does more than just offer tips for learning Spanish, it’s a primer on the culture of Colombia.
The well-designed ebook is broken into 6 chapters, including:
My favorite chapter is the Colombian slang, as I’ve found that learning the local slang is possibly the fastest way to feel like you know Colombian Spanish, and can communicate in a way the locals understand.
The other chapters offer a quick intro to the culture via common foods, drinks, books, movies and music. All of these things you’ll notice on your own when you get here, but the fruits and music can be hard to decode so a head’s up is all you really need before arrival.
I haven’t taken formal Spanish classes in 15 months of living in Colombia, yet the slang I picked up helps me relate to the locals immediately, and on a very authentic level. Plus, it’s a lot of fun!
The regular price for Spanish in Colombia is $7.95, however this week August is running a sale on the Kindle version, which you can get for just $0.99 on Amazon.com.
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$0.99 puts this well into impulse category... Purchased already. Thanks for the review, Dave.
Cool Charlie. You'll be speaking Spanish like a Colombian in no time. I'm sure it's going to be a lot easier for you after learning Mandarin!
That's what I'm really interested in putting to the test. Chinese is the first time I really applied myself to learning a language. Everyone says that Spanish is easy but I don't speak it at all so I'm curious to see what the acquisition process is like for a language like that.
As I know you know, immersion is the best approach. I had Colombians surprised I didn't have conversational fluency after just 2-3 months of living in Medellin. If you're disciplined, and/or get some formal tutoring/teaching I think you can pick it up really fast.